Love this topic! Over last 30 years I went from a 5 channel Sony consumer to a 7 channel Arcam receiver with Sonus Fbr Conerto surround spkrs system to to a 9 channel Onkyo consumer because the Arcam kept breaking. Then to a Parasound Halo A5 with P7 pre, then added a Marantz AV 8805. Then upgraded cables to mid grade and now the Surround is complete and any upgrades are not worth the cost to me. It sounds awesome with movies and pretty good with music. A serious 2 channel is my next step in a separate room with separates. No technical data here, just 56 yrs of listening to music.
Moving to separates
Does anyone have an experience they'd like to share about going from just an AVR or integrated to using external amp(s)? My Integra AVR has 100 W per channel (class AB), all channels driven, and sounds very good, so it is not clear to me that there is any advantage to connecting its preouts to a separate amp. Might be a total waste of money. Please mention your specific equipment. Thanks!